Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

101. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she has considered the resources that may become available within primary education in the coming years due to the projection of declining pupil enrolment and the way in which they might best be deployed to improve education outcomes for pupils. [39714/20]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to seek to make further progress in reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools.

Previous budgets of 2016 and 2018 improved the staffing schedule by one point on both occasions to its historically lowest level ever of 1 teacher to 26 pupils.

Budget 2021 will implement a further 1 point reduction for the 2021/22 school year so that primary schools will be allocated teaching posts on an average basis of 1 classroom teacher for every 25 pupils. In addition, there has been a three point reduction in the retention schedule. This measure will help ensure better teacher retention in primary schools and means fewer pupils are required to retain or recruit a teacher.

Projections of pupil enrolments are an important input into the planning of the education system in Ireland and provide vital information on the likely evolution of school attendance over the coming nineteen years. The results are used in the areas of teacher demand and supply modelling, and forward planning of school buildings.

The Department has developed a Teacher Demand Supply model to assess and plan for the expected changes in enrolments at both primary and post-primary level. The Department is working to improve the quality and range of available data to broaden the understanding of the impact of policy development on teacher demand and supply in the context of all relevant impact factors.